The plant is believed to have first emerged in grassland plains (steppes) in these regions in Central Asia, flourishing on nutrient-rich dump sites for prehistoric hunter and gatherers.

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Where’s the proof?

Yup, weed pre-dates Christ (Picture: Getty)

Burned cannabis seeds have been found in Kurgan burial sites dating back to 3000BC in Siberia and mummified psychoactive marijuana has been found in the tombs of noblemen dating back to 2500BC in Xinjiang province in China.

Medical use of cannabis can also be traced back to 4000BC in ancient China where it was used as an anaesthetic for surgery.

Why did they smoke it back then?

Used for pain relief (Picture: Getty)

Back then it was all about smoking cannabis for medical and spiritual purposes such as relieving pain during childbirth, surgery, and for toothache, Warf said.

‘The idea that this is an evil drug is a very recent construction,’ he added, describing it recent illegality as a ‘historical anomaly’.

How many types of marijuana plant are there?

So far three different species and one subspecies have been identified:

Cannabis sativa (marijuana) with psychoactive properties

Cannabis sativa L.(hemp) a non-psychoactive subspecies used for cloth, oil and fuel

Cannabis indica, a second types of psychoactive cannabis plant identified by French botanist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

And the uncommon psychoactive species Cannabis ruderalis, which was discovered by Russian botanist DE Janischevisky in 1924.

How did cannabis spread to Europe and America?

From ancient China, the plant was bought by Korean farmers around 2000BC, according to the 1993 book The Archeology of Korea.

Around 2000BC the plant’s use spread to Southern Asia and the drug became widely used in India.

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That’s also when the drug spread across to the Middle East, Europe, the Ukraine and Southeast Russia as well, believed to have done so through a nomadic Indo-European group called the Scythians who occupied the region at the time, Warf says.

Tribes in Germany are thought to have then brought the drug to Germany, and the Anglo Saxons brought it from there to Britain around 1200AD.

Meanwhile cannabis spread across to Africa from the Middle East around 700AD and finally over to South America and the Caribbean around 1800AD.

Cannabis reached North America from Mexico around 1910AD during the Mexican Revolution and New York around 1920AD, Warf believes.

When was cannabis made illegal?

Pro-cannabis protesters gather in London’s Hyde Park to call for the drug to be legalised during the 420 demo (Picture: WENN)

Marijuana was first banned in 1915 in Utah and became illegal in 28 other states by 1941.

By 1937 it was banned across the USA.

Warf said: ‘Many early prejudices against marijuana were thinly veiled racist fears of its smokers, often promulgated by reactionary newspapers. Mexicans were frequently blamed for smoking marijuana, property crimes, seducing children and engaging in murderous sprees.’

Here in the UK, the drug was banned on September 28, 1928. It was added to the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920 but still prescribed for medical use up until 1971.

The Defence of the Realms Act in 1914 initially banned drugs for soldiers due to the break out of World War One – to make sure troops weren’t taking anything.

This temporary measure was then expanded to the entire population in the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920.

But the real reason (we think) dates back to 1971 when a bunch of college kids over in California would arrange to smoke a joint at 4.20pm after after-school sports activities.

The group of five – who called themselves The Waldos – would meet regularly at this time by the San Rafael High School’s statue of Louis Pasteur statue and soon 4/20 became code for going for a cheeky smoke.

This spread and 4.20pm became known as the perfect time to smoke weed and the number 420 became synonymous with marijuana, hence why 4.20pm on the US calendar day 4/20 became a day to celebrate.